The present invention related to a clamp for securely retaining a flexible cord, string, rope, and the like in a fixed position with respect to the clamp. Although the present invention may be employed for various applications wherein a cord or string is to be releasably retained in a selected position, the present invention finds particular applicability for various outdoor sports including backpacking, mountaineering and the like, and is useful when used in conjunction with outerwear or any other application wherein drawstrings are employed. A particular problem which has faced those who used hooded parkas, backpacks, sleeping bags or other devices which incorporate, as part of their structure, a drawstring, is to have a single device which may readily be operated to securely bind a drawstring in a selected position; but, which may also be easily activated to release the drawstring.
A solution to this problem has been to provide a pair of cylinders each of which is enclosed on one end, with the cylinders telescoping together so that the closed ends are opposite one another. Each of the cylinders is also provided with a pair of facing holes and, as the cylinders telescope, the holes may be registered in alignment with one another. A biasing spring is positioned in the larger of the two cylinders so that, upon telescoping the cylinders together, the holes may align with one another allowing a cord to pass therethrough. Upon release, then, the cord becomes bound between the sidewalls of the telescoping pieces.
While the above-described solution to the problems of retaining a drawstring has proved functionally acceptable, it none the less has several associated problems. For example, in such a standard cord lamp, the mating cylindrical pieces may rotate with respect to one another about their common axis so that the holes in each are not in a position of common longitudinal alignment. When this happens, of course, the telescoping together of the pieces does not transversely align the holes so as to allow a cord to pass therethrough and it becomes necessary for the user to reposition the pieces rotationally with respect to one another before using the same. A second problem incumbent in such an assembly occurs when a cord positioned and clamped therein becomes severed internally of the mechanism. Since it is the cord which prevents the pieces from separating from one another, a break in the cord allows the compression spring to separate the pieces thereby "exploding" the clamp. As noted above, since these cord clamps are often used in outdoor activities, it is necessary for the user to either carry spare clamps with him during such activities or resort to more crude methods of securing the strings such as tying the drawstrings together.
The present invention is an improvement over such existing cord clamps in that it provides telescoping members which are keyed for registering their respective holes in transverse alignment while at the same time it provides structure which interlocks the members to prevent separation.